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The Anti-Hit List for Nov. 3: Stevie Wonder, Paul McCartney and Adele all get remade

As much as we adore Adele, her new latest James Bond theme feels almost too sophisticated for its own good. San Francisco’s DJ Panic City (Katy Perry, Kesha, Afrojack) evidently feels the same way. While he refrains from taking too many liberties with the first third of the song, you can practically hear his attention span begin to wander around the 1:45 mark — which explains the squiggly, double-time ’80s-synth break he drops into the middle.

9. THE HISTORY OF APPLE PIE

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“Do It Wrong”

This London band has all of three singles to its name, of which this is the latest and, by far, the noisiest. Sounding like a more melodic Sonic Youth, or a rackety Blur, this admirably compact track also betrays a mischievous inclination to force Jerome Watson’s electric guitar and Stephanie Min’s vocals to compete for attention. (From Out of View, out Jan. 28)

8. DONNA SUMMER

“Virgin Mary”

One of the rarest and most peculiar of Summer’s singles, this was released in only one country, the Netherlands, where it followed the original 1975 version of “Love to Love You” but preceded the reworking of that song (with a “Baby” tacked on to its title) and Summer’s ascension to the queen of disco. Produced and co-written by longtime collaborator Giorgio Moroder, this is about to make its debut on CD as part of a two-disc compilation of Moroder’s rare and unreleased material, much of which he’s already posted online. (From The Groove Train Volume 1: 1975-1993)

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7. MACY GRAY

“Superstition”

Never one to take the easy way out, Gray has recast the Stevie Wonder hit as a jazzy, late-night ballad, with no clavinet, no flowing horn lines, no hard-as-stone backbeat. In fact, Gray’s version — part of a front-to-back 40th anniversary tribute to the Talking Book album — unfolds in 6/4 time and generally sounds more like Jeff Beck’s deeply atmospheric “Cause We’ve Ended As Lovers” (also written by Wonder) than one of the finest funk-soul singles of the ’70s. (From Talking Book)

6. JORY NASH

“Sally”

Using the musicians who played on Kurt Swinghammer’s cover of Nick Drake’s “River Man,” this Toronto singer-songwriter delivers the kind of sophisticated acoustic pop we’ve come to associate with Paul Simon, early Billy Joel, and lesser lights from Gilbert O’Sullivan to Stephen Bishop. That company probably makes Nash out to be more pop than he really is. (Listen to “A Song About Love” to hear his folkier side.) Suffice to say that “Sally” combines the classic melodicism of McCartney with the attention to words you might find in a vintage Lightfoot song. (From Little Pilgrim)

5. THE SHINS

“Wonderful Christmastime”

By reducing the tempo from a canter to a trot and adding a bit of vocal counterpart in the middle, James Mercer & Co. have transformed this Paul McCartney perennial into something resembling an outtake from Pet Sounds. The alterations are convincing enough that you can almost forget you’re listening to Christmas music in early November. (From Holidays Rule)

4. HOTLEGS

“Suite F.A.”

Best known for making the single-minded novelty song “Neanderthal Man” and changing their name to 10cc, this band has been relegated to a footnote. Thankfully, one listen to a new compilation of their entire oeuvre should be enough to force a reassessment. Patterned after side two of Abbey Road, this 12-minute amalgam is the missing link between the psychedelia of late-period Beatles and the art rock pioneered by the likes of Roxy Music and, yes, 10cc. (From You Didn’t Like It Because You Didn’t Think of It)

3. BLUE RODEO & THE SADIES

“Diamond Mine”

The conflicting recollections by Jim Cuddy and Greg Keelor of this song’s origins — the latter recalls it as a showcase designed for then-keyboardist Bobby Wiseman, the former remembers it as a tug-of-war between Keelor and the more traditional elements of the band — are almost as gripping as the crackling, imperfect performance that follows. Recorded at CBC’s Glenn Gould Studio at the end of October, this 10-minute epic is a suitable reminder of all that has made this band so compelling for the last 35 years, conflicts included.

2. BUFFALO SPRINGFIELD VS. FUNKADELIC

“For What It’s Worth (BRAT Mashup)”

Where have all the protest songs gone? Not (only) to earnest men and women with acoustic guitars and a degree in Woody Guthrie. Enter Daniel Barassi, who has mashed up Buffalo Springfield’s “For What It’s Worth” with Funkadelic’s 1970 single “Music for My Mother” and prefacing it with “Holiday Playtime,” a piece of “library” music you might know from Ren & Stimpy. But the real pushback resides in the visuals, which unload on Todd Akin, the Kardashians, Ann Coulter, and pretty much anything that riles the left. The result is indignant, provocative and passionate — just like any protest song worth its salt.

1. VINYL WILLIAMS

“Open Your Mind”

The 22-year-old grandson of John Williams — the composer on Jaws, Star Wars and Harry Potter — appears to have inherited a certain sonic adventurousness, though this sumptuous song/soundscape sounds nothing like anything you’d hear in a blockbuster movie. While the opening two minutes drift through lush, Sigur Ros/Cocteau Twins territory, the closing three constitute a coda that could pass as the soundtrack to a film about suspended animation. The album title, by the way, refers to a figure-8-shaped curve, used in geometry. It looks like it’s lying on its side, elegant and enigmatic beyond actual meaning. (From Lemniscate, out Nov. 13)

Imagine a postmodern Pop Up Video, one in which the guy dishing up the facts that appear on screen can’t stop his personal life from intruding upon the parade of trivia. That’s the concept behind Tom Scharpling’s latest video. It isn’t long before innocuous comments such as “This is Nude Beach. They’re a band from Long Island, N.Y.” give way to, “You know, I was in a band, too . . . We broke up when the drummer took over this dad’s landscaping business.” Later, after enumerating the band’s boring day jobs, Scharpling veers off into this observation: “I’ve been unemployed for 11 months now.” The next thing you know, he’s sharing stories about his girlfriend, who really doesn’t think he’s looking hard enough for a job. Oh, and the song is really catchy, too.

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